Aiming Higher Consultants?

[learners4life]

Has anyone used the services of Aiming Higher Consultants for your child's college planning and/or application process?  If not Aiming Higher, has anyone used any other professional services?

 

We are specifically looking for assistance with the college essay, transcripts, and making sure the whole package is properly put together (recommendation letters, other documentation such as AP/SAT II scores).

 

Would love any feedback!

 

 

[regentrude]

I have used the free but invaluable wisdom of the parents on this board. And it has served my DD very well.

All taken together, the parents here have at least as much combined experience as any professional.

And they have the added advantage to be familiar with homeschooling and to know how to package a homeschooled applicant. I am not so sure that all these services are well versed in this specific aspect.

 

We are specifically looking for assistance with the college essay, transcripts, and making sure the whole package is properly put together (recommendation letters, other documentation such as AP/SAT II scores).

 

Really, the above is not that horribly difficult.

Edited April 12, 2016 by regentrude

[8filltheheart]

I agree with Regentrude that what you have listed is not difficult to accomplish. What makes the difference is the path taken: course load, projects, awards, leadership, etc. Those things need to be considered well before the stage of the process you have listed. If you have covered those by yourself up to now, you can probably handle the rest.

[Guest2]

Well, Jeanette Webb is both a former homeschooling mom and a consultant. Her kids hardly even took any outsourced classes if I recall . She and Austin used to write articles for the Practical Homeschooling magazine to give him some writing experience. I think she has a kindle book on Amazon about homeschooling, but I am not sure. She is pretty familar with homeschooling!

 

Check her website for acceptances of her children, but I think her daughter graduated from Princeton,and son from Caltech ,but they had a long lovely elite list of acceptances to choose from.

 

I puchased / particiapted in their digital classes, but since we decided we wanted state schools for undergrad, we haven't used her consulting services(yet). I found her to be warm, knowledgable, and extremely professional. I would reccomend her in a heartbeat!

Edited April 12, 2016 by Silver Brook

[Guest2]

Jumping in back in, this is the class that covers the information I think you are looking for. http://www.aiminghigherconsultants.com/product/high-school-counseling-101/

 

If it doesn't help, she does have a money back guarantee (which I used for one class that I don't think is being offered any more). No questions asked. I owe her my senior year sanity ( a bargain for a hundred bucks).

Edited April 12, 2016 by Silver Brook

[learners4life]

Yes, we have covered all of those things and built an impressive package.  However, I, umm, have never made an official transcript.  Gosh, I've never even seen one!  (I don't think I've ever seen any of mine either.)  

 

On top of that, my daughter wants to attend a California UC - not an easy acceptance for homeschoolers. I really think she'd have a better chance getting into Stanford!  However, my daughter wants to go to vet school at UC Davis, so we have to be really careful where she does undergrad (most accepted applicants went to a UC).

 

Honestly, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by the process.  I have navigated our homeschool years pretty much alone - not a lot of homeschoolers in our area are college-oriented.  I have had to swim against the tide of popular homeschooling culture, which meant figuring out almost everything alone.  I can't take a chance of dropping the ball now!

 

I did email back and forth with Jeanette Webb, and she has helped homeschoolers get into California UCs, including some who were awarded Regents Scholars (not something we are focused on, but it is somewhat impressive).  The price is pretty high though - $300/hour with a 3 hour retainer.

 

 

 

 

[learners4life]

Well, Jeanette Webb is both a former homeschooling mom and a consultant. Her kids hardly even took any outsourced classes if I recall . She and Austin used to write articles for the Practical Homeschooling magazine to give him some writing experience. I think she has a kindle book on Amazon about homeschooling, but I am not sure. She is pretty familar with homeschooling!

 

Check her website for acceptances of her children, but I think her daughter graduated from Princeton,and son from Caltech ,but they had a long lovely elite list of acceptances to choose from.

 

I puchased / particiapted in their digital classes, but since we decided we wanted state schools for undergrad, we haven't used her consulting services(yet). I found her to be warm, knowledgable, and extremely professional. I would reccomend her in a heartbeat!

I was typing when you were.  Thanks for your input.  Which digital classes did you do?  Did you find them helpful?

[regentrude]

 However, I, umm, have never made an official transcript.  Gosh, I've never even seen one!  (I don't think I've ever seen any of mine either.) 

 

Writing the transcript is easy. really.

Look at the sticky threads. I am pretty sure some people shared their transcript templates in one of the threads. Several of us are using a similar template that lists courses simultaneously by year and subject - sheer genius.

 

 

 

 

On top of that, my daughter wants to attend a California UC - not an easy acceptance for homeschoolers. I really think she'd have a better chance getting into Stanford!

 

I doubt that. Stanford has an acceptance rate of 4.7%.

 

The biggest issue with the UC is the satisfaction of the a-g requirements and the testing needed as proof of that if you did not go through accredited providers. there are several parents from CA on this board who could help.

[learners4life]

Jumping in back in, this is the class that covers the information I think you are looking for. http://www.aiminghigherconsultants.com/product/high-school-counseling-101/

 

If it doesn't help, she does have a money back guarantee (which I used for one class that I don't think is being offered any more). No questions asked. I owe her my senior year sanity ( a bargain for a hundred bucks).

I saw this, but wasn't sure how much of it would be beneficial to us at this point.  My daughter is a junior this year, so we have to get her application packages together this summer.

 

Does it address writing application essays, or who are the best people to get recommendation letters from/what a good recommendation letter should look like?

[Guest2]

Yes, we have covered all of those things and built an impressive package. However, I, umm, have never made an official transcript. Gosh, I've never even seen one! (I don't think I've ever seen any of mine either.)

 

On top of that, my daughter wants to attend a California UC - not an easy acceptance for homeschoolers. I really think she'd have a better chance getting into Stanford! However, my daughter wants to go to vet school at UC Davis, so we have to be really careful where she does undergrad (most accepted applicants went to a UC).

 

 

Honestly, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by the process. I have navigated our homeschool years pretty much alone - not a lot of homeschoolers in our area are college-oriented. I have had to swim against the tide of popular homeschooling culture, which meant figuring out almost everything alone. I can't take a chance of dropping the ball now!

 

I did email back and forth with Jeanette Webb, and she has helped homeschoolers get into California UCs, including some who were awarded Regents Scholars (not something we are focused on, but it is somewhat impressive). The price is pretty high though - $300/hour with a 3 hour retainer.

That is expensive. Maybe you could spend the $100 and see if you like the approach first, and if not get a refund. I think you could put together all that you had above after the digital class. Then maybe if you hired her on a consultant basis, she could help you fine tune and further individualize it for your dc, along with optimizing the application?

[Guest2]

I saw this, but wasn't sure how much of it would be beneficial to us at this point. My daughter is a junior this year, so we have to get her application packages together this summer.

 

Does it address writing application essays, or who are the best people to get recommendation letters from/what a good recommendation letter should look like?

I think it was school profile, counseling letter, and transcript as well as a transcript legend. I believe they have something else for a letter of reccomendation.

Edited: Sorry, gave you the wrong link. This is the one

http://www.aiminghigherconsultants.com/product/explaining-your-homeschool-learn-how-to-produce-required-college-documents/

Edited April 12, 2016 by Silver Brook

[8filltheheart]

Creating a transcript is easy. You do not need to spend a $1000 for putting an application together! If you have met the a-g requirements, just asking questions here should help you. You could also join the homeschool 2 college yahoo loop for free! :)

[Guest2]

I was typing when you were. Thanks for your input. Which digital classes did you do? Did you find them helpful?

Some of the classes are not offered now. I took them live and she answered questions during the class. I did take the one upthread as well as the content for Explaining Your Homeschool ( I believe it had a different name in 2013) . I think total, I took four. You could easily listen to one on a weekend and see what you think. I looked at every transcript I could find here and on my yahoo groups, books, and other paid sites. Aiming Higher was a much better fit for us.

Edited April 12, 2016 by Silver Brook

[Arcadia]

However, I, umm, have never made an official transcript. Gosh, I've never even seen one!

 

On top of that, my daughter wants to attend a California UC - not an easy acceptance for homeschoolers.

For transcript UCB has instructions and a sample on their webpage

http://collegetools.berkeley.edu/resources.php?cat_id=50

 

Look at link below which is a step by step guide a California public school put up to help their students with UC application.

http://rhs.rocklinusd.org/subsites/Career-Center/documents/College%20Planning/UC%20Freshman%20Application%20Workshop.pdf

[Guest2]

I wouldn't pay $1000 for a transcript help either! I believe the consult is more more indiualized to the schools you are pursuing and your childs unique intrests and gifts. I think she knows many of the schools and helps develop your strategy.

[learners4life]

I think it was school profile, counseling letter, and transcript as well as a transcript legend. I believe they have something else for a letter of reccomendation.

Edited: Sorry, gave you the wrong link. This is the one

http://www.aiminghigherconsultants.com/product/explaining-your-homeschool-learn-how-to-produce-required-college-documents/

 

Yes!  This would be a great place to start!  Thank you!  :) 

 

I just looked at her video options and saw that she also had one entitled Harnessing the Power of the Personal Essay.  Combining these two videos might be all we need.  I do wish she would do a one hour consult, though, just for feedback on the "final" package.

 

Btw, last August we met with two admissions counselors at a UC.  They were quite helpful.   The one we spent about a half hour with commented that we are not like the normal homeschoolers he has had experience with, which was meant in a positive way, and was somewhat encouraging. 

[8filltheheart]

Btw, last August we met with two admissions counselors at a UC.  They were quite helpful.   The one we spent about a half hour with commented that we are not like the normal homeschoolers he has had experience with, which was meant in a positive way, and was somewhat encouraging. 

 

I think you are probably inflating the difficulty of admissions for homeschoolers.  Have you looked at this page? http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/davis/freshman-profile/

 

Umm, no, it is not easier to get into Stanford (which homeschoolers without admissions consultants do manage to do!)   

 

Strong homeschool applicants get into universities every yr.  I would really suggest asking questions on the homeschool 2 college loop first before paying for anything.  There are a lot of homeschoolers from CA on that loop who have kids attending top CA universities.

[Kathy in Richmond]

I saw this, but wasn't sure how much of it would be beneficial to us at this point.  My daughter is a junior this year, so we have to get her application packages together this summer.

 

Does it address writing application essays, or who are the best people to get recommendation letters from/what a good recommendation letter should look like.

 

Essays:

I had my kids read Harry Bauld's classic little book, On Writing the College Application Essay before starting. My daughter's advice is "be yourself" ...let your personality shine through. Don't repeat your accomplishments or talk too much about others. It's about you...don't brag, but do reveal what makes you tick. It's a chance to give the reader a chance to learn something about you that isn't obvious from the rest of the application.

 

Recommendation letters:

The best advice I've ever seen is on MIT's website, complete with good & bad examples. I've used it myself as a guide when I've written LORs for my students. It's perfectly OK to share this page with your child's letter writers.

 

Overall application:

Jeanette Webb herself has written columns over the years for PA Homeschoolers. Here's one I've bookmarked  with some wise advice on the overall application package.

I also recommend What You Don't Know Can Keep You Out of College by Don Dunbar. He helped me see how admissions officers for highly selective schools think & what they look for, especially in regards to the essay & interview.

 

When I went through this process for the first time ten years ago, I found the hs2coll loop to be VERY helpful, as others have recommended above. There are lots of people there & on this site who are happy to share their experiences & outcomes, and they can answer almost any question.

 

Good luck!

[learners4life]

Essays:

I had my kids read Harry Bauld's classic little book, On Writing the College Application Essay before starting. My daughter's advice is "be yourself" ...let your personality shine through. Don't repeat your accomplishments or talk too much about others. It's about you...don't brag, but do reveal what makes you tick. It's a chance to give the reader a chance to learn something about you that isn't obvious from the rest of the application.

 

Recommendation letters:

The best advice I've ever seen is on MIT's website, complete with good & bad examples. I've used it myself as a guide when I've written LORs for my students. It's perfectly OK to share this page with your child's letter writers.

 

Overall application:

Jeanette Webb herself has written columns over the years for PA Homeschoolers. Here's one I've bookmarked  with some wise advice on the overall application package.

I also recommend What You Don't Know Can Keep You Out of College by Don Dunbar. He helped me see how admissions officers for highly selective schools think & what they look for, especially in regards to the essay & interview.

 

When I went through this process for the first time ten years ago, I found the hs2coll loop to be VERY helpful, as others have recommended above. There are lots of people there & on this site who are happy to share their experiences & outcomes, and they can answer almost any question.

 

Good luck!

 

Kathy, Thank you so much for the very helpful and positive information and tips. This is priceless :)

Edited April 13, 2016 by learners4life

[learners4life]

By the way, the Stanford reference was hyperbole.  For those who don't live in CA, and so probably aren't familiar with the UC system, the UC system is hard for homeschoolers to gain admittance to. Harder, I think, than a lot of private universities.  Thus the hyperbolical reference to Stanford...

Edited April 13, 2016 by learners4life

[quark]

By the way, the Stanford reference was hyperbole.  For those who don't live in CA, and so probably aren't familiar with the UC system, the UC system is hard for homeschoolers to gain admittance to. Harder, I think, than a lot of private universities.  Thus the hyperbolical reference to Stanford...

 

Bolded isn't exactly true in my experience or maybe I just happen to be in a local homeschool community that has / knows homeschoolers who were accepted to several UC schools that they applied to. I think the challenge is mainly with regards to specific campuses like Berkeley and UCLA.

 

[learners4life]

I think you are probably inflating the difficulty of admissions for homeschoolers.  Have you looked at this page? http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/davis/freshman-profile/

 

Umm, no, it is not easier to get into Stanford (which homeschoolers without admissions consultants do manage to do!)   

 

Strong homeschool applicants get into universities every yr.  I would really suggest asking questions on the homeschool 2 college loop first before paying for anything.  There are a lot of homeschoolers from CA on that loop who have kids attending top CA universities.

 

I do appreciate your help, and looked at the link.  Yes, a 38% admittance rate doesn't sound so bad.  But those numbers don't reflect what that percentage is for homeschoolers.  (Of course, I know not many colleges give the admittance rates of homeschoolers.)    The feedback I have gotten is that private colleges are more open to homeschoolers.  I would love to connect with homeschool families from CA who have gained admittance to a UC, and will definitely follow up on your suggestion to join the homeschool 2 college loop.

 

 

Bolded isn't exactly true in my experience or maybe I just happen to be in a local homeschool community that has / knows homeschoolers who were accepted to several UC schools that they applied to. I think the challenge is mainly with regards to specific campuses like Berkeley and UCLA.

 

 

 

Yes regarding UCLA and Berkeley.  And, yes, it may be that my view is a little skewed because I don't know of ANYBODY in any of our local homeschool communities who has gotten into a UC as a freshman.  Admitted to some very highly regarded private schools, but not admitted to the UCs they applied to.  Full disclosure, though, would be that many in our homeschool community are directing their children toward Christian universities only (which is fantastic as long as it fits your child's intended major and will support long term educational/career goals).  Therefore, these children did not apply to any UCs. 

[learners4life]

For transcript UCB has instructions and a sample on their webpage

http://collegetools.berkeley.edu/resources.php?cat_id=50

 

Look at link below which is a step by step guide a California public school put up to help their students with UC application.

http://rhs.rocklinusd.org/subsites/Career-Center/documents/College%20Planning/UC%20Freshman%20Application%20Workshop.pdf

 

 

Thank you Arcadia!  Both of these references are very helpful! :) :) :)